Books in Profiles in American History series

In October 1859, a group of 22 men led by abolitionist John Brown sought to ignite a slave revolt. They believed that a violent rebellion was the only way to change the system and bring down slavery's hold on the South. They came at harvest time, believing that this was when the overworked slaves would be most eager to revolt. Brown's men took and briefly held the foremost arsenal south of the Mason-Dixon Line, but when a massive uprising didn't occur, they were soon captured and eventually found guilty of treason. Their audacity made them heroes to some, even as they were reviled by many for their use of deadly force. This event was one of the many catalysts leading up to the Civil War. In The Raid on Harpers Ferry: John Brown's Rebellion, learn how this action to incite a slave rebellion was viewed 150 years ago and the repercussions it has had on the United States.

Though the automated assembly line seems the most logical and natural of ideas, its development took place over a long period of time. It would take Henry Ford and his dream of building an affordable Model T automobile to put all the pieces together. In doing so, Ford changed the world forever. The invention impacted prices, wages and demand; labor unions; and even popular culture. In The Invention of the Moving Assembly Line, learn how one simple invention helped to transform America and how its impact is still being felt today.

The Spanish explorer Hernando Cortés is a very controversial figure. To some people, he was heroic. Even though he was greatly outnumbered, he was able to defeat the Aztec Emperor Montezuma and conquer the Aztec empire because of his personal courage and leadership abilities. The Aztec empire was centered in modern-day Mexico. Its religion was based on human sacrifice. Cortés replaced it with Christianity. To others, including many Mexicans, he was a villain because he destroyed the Aztecs way of life. They believed he was a cruel man. He was also a symbol of Spanish domination. When Mexico became independent from Spain in 1821, its people tried to remove their memories of him. Either way, one thing is certain. Hernando Cortés was one of the most important figures in the history of the New World.

After the passage of the Butler Act, which made it unlawful for a state-funded school in Tennessee to teach that humans evolved from lower organisms, 24-year-old high school teacher John Scopes intentionally violated the law. Arrested and charged on May 5, 1925, Scopes became the centerpiece in a trial that pitted two of the finest legal minds of the time against one another. Prosecutor William Jennings Bryan's participation in the trial served as the capstone to his prior unsuccessful advocacy to cut off funds to schools that taught evolution. Prominent trial attorney Clarence Darrow, an agnostic, spoke for the defense. This case, which was the first to be broadcast via radio, was a critical turning point in the creation vs. evolution controversy that continues today. The Scopes Monkey Trial has since been fictionalized in a play, a film, and three television films, all called Inherit the Wind. The Scopes Monkey Trial: Debate over Evolution explains how this pivotal court case shaped the way evolution and creationism are approached in classrooms.